Running in New Orleans
Anonymous and not necessarily a man wrote in yesterday to say he ( I'm saying man) packed two .44 Magnum hand guns to feel safe while driving around Mobile, Alabama and that he was happy that Louisiana accepted without hassle the Alabama gun permits because he visited New Orleans on a regular basis and by implication of two .44 Magnums he felt he may need to shoot somebody dead on one of his visits. He meant in self-defense.

I just wanted to say that if memory serves me it is also copacetic (and legal) to carry your permitted weapon in a concealed fashion in New Orleans, which for the purposes of feeling safe might come in handy and that perhaps the man should consider a .38 snub nose or even one of the smaller, almost feminine handguns, for comfortable concealment during those many sultry summer days in the sub-tropical New Orleans climate, when one is inclined to wear the least amount of concealing clothing possible.

Of course, for just driving around in an air-conditioned vehicle, and if you are driving one of the popular choices of the car jacker (I believe you can find the top ten list for popular cars to steal in your area, on the Internet), that .44 Magnum on the passenger seat under a towel is pretty sweet for the defending of your life and property. In New Orleans, and I may just be making this up, I am pretty sure that the rules concerning the use of lethal response to potential car jacking are somewhat relaxed. If you are parked at a light and a person with a weapon in their hand approaches your vehicle, and they are not flashing a badge or otherwise making themselves known as cops, you may, at your discretion, shoot dead the approaching person. You need not wait for the person to actually threaten you verbally or point their weapon at you. You may dispose of this person who is coming for your Toyota Camry.

Again, my knowledge on these matters is so completely anecdotal as to be almost irrelevant, and one who intends to pursue avenues of legal killing in New Orleans would be well advised to consult the proper authorities before actually killing someone.

And I'm honestly not all that hip to what the best hand gun would be for every situation and I know the various versions of the 9mm are widely popular but I think for the purpose of occasional killing I would prefer the revolver to the semi-automatic because of that annoying possibility of the semi-automatic to jam up, or go click because you forgot to jack a shell into the chamber, when what you are intending is ka-blam, which is the proper noise to hear preceding the death of another human by hand gun.

Some people I think tend to feel limited by the six shots of the average revolver versus the eleven to thirteen possible chances with the semi-automatic but let's face it, if you can't kill someone with six shots at close range (remember, this is self-defense killing, your range is going to be between a few feet and point blank), then you probably should not have a gun in the first place.

The need to kill our fellow humans with available weaponry is not a thing new to our times. It would be most excellent if it were because there would then be the implication that it is something within an evolutionary process that we could hope to outgrow. Instead, I think it is more likely that if we haven't outgrown it by now, we will not ever out grow it. With this in mind I will offer a last little piece of throw away advice--try not to kill people, try to avoid it. But if you really can't avoid it then I believe the conventional wisdom is--aim for the largest part of your target, also known as the human torso, and pull the trigger until your weapon is empty. If your target, also known as the human being, is not then dead, you should run. Running as a first option is also highly desirable. Of course, here, due to a New Orleans incident or two of which I am aware, in good conscience I have to add--run away from the person with the gun, not towards them.
- jimlouis 3-10-2005 8:28 pm




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